Zusak posits several messages in The Book Thief
The Book Thief
A young girl (Sophie Nelisse) living with foster parents (Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson) in Nazi Germany begins collecting forbidden books and sharing them with the Jewish refugee hiding in her home in this war drama adapted from Markus Zusak's book by screenwriter Michael Petroni (T…
What is The Book Thief main message?
Major themes of The Book Thief include: literacy and power, as Liesel learns to read, explores words with Max, and even paints over sections of Mein Kampf; love and hate in human nature, as we see acts of genuine kindness toward the Jews, particularly in hiding Max, and also acts of horror and torment from the Nazis; ...
What does The Book Thief symbolize?
First of all, it's a symbol of the countless other book burning in Nazi Germany. It's a bit of a reduction to call these events "book burnings." As the novel indicates, it's not only books being burned, but also art, pamphlets, anything authored by a Jew, or which speaks favorably about Jewish people.
Why is The Book Thief so important?
The film provides a candid and age-appropriate vantage point for younger viewers and indeed may be an entry point to awareness and further exploration. It's also important because of its underlying message - the power of words and literature.
Why does Liesel Meminger steal books?
Stealing the book is a way for her get revenge on her new sworn enemy, Adolf Hitler. Sure she wants a book to read, but she also wants to take back some of what Hitler is destroying.
What does Liesel's books symbolize?
Liesel's Relationship to Books Liesel's development from a powerless girl to a more mature, empowered young woman is symbolized by her relationship to books.
How do words save Liesel's life?
The power of words save Liesel by giving her a voice, they then save Liesel and Max as they seek refuge from their nightmares, and again they save Liesel's frightened neighbors as they take cover from the bombs, comforted by her reading.
What was the symbolic importance of the last book Liesel obtained?
Symbolism - What was the symbolic importance of the last book Liesel obtained, The Dream Carrier? It's about a dream carrier bringing dreams to people who need strength. Max and Liesel both inspire each other in this way. They also have nightmares and wish for peaceful dreams.
What is Liesel's accordion How is it symbolic?
Hans Hubermann's accordion represents hope, safety, and creativity for Liesel. When she starts to read to the people of Himmel Street during the air raids, she feels like reading out loud is her version of playing the accordion.
What do the word shakers symbolize?
The Word Shaker story details the friendship between Max and Liesel, while also telling the story of how words helped Hitler rise to power. He planted words and images into the minds of many people, and from these words came symbols, and from these symbols came hate.
What is the greatest gift Max gives Liesel?
In the book, the greatest gift Max gives Liesel is words in the form of the ‘The Word Shaker,’ the story he writes for her. In the story he wrote, he suggests that words are the most powerful force there is. He said that Adolf Hitler uses just words and not guns or money or some other instrument to take over the world.
Why is love seen as an agent of change and freedom?
This is because love is the only way of forming a family where real freedom exists. Liesel got the best of her traumas by learning to love and be loved by her foster family and her friends. At the start of the novel, Liesel is traumatized by the Death of her brother and her separation from her only family and the larger issues of war-torn Germany and the destruction wrought by the Nazi party.
What is the most extreme example of cruelty in the book?
Again, the concentration camps linger unseen in the book’s background as the most extreme example of cruelty. There was a scene that showed both kindness and cruelty at once. There, Hans Hubermann tries to help a weak Jew suffering hunger and deprivation, being marched through town on the way to Dachau.
Why does Max find Liesel's kindness extraordinary?
Because of the political context of the time, with hatred and violence against Jews being rampant, Max finds Liesel’s kindness to be extraordinary. On the contrary, we also see acts of cruelty, like the treatment of Rudy by Viktor Chemmel and Franz Deutscher.
How did Liesel get traumatized?
At the start of the novel, Liesel is traumatized by the Death of her brother and her separation from her only family and the larger issues of war-torn Germany and the destruction wrought by the Nazi party.
Why did Liesel use words?
The story shows how Liesel has used words to create a refuge for herself amid Nazism and later uses words to calm her neighbors during the air raids by reading from her book.
What is the theme of the majority?
Majority are themes of the power of words, kindness, and cruelty of humans, reading and writing, the duality of the Nazi era, mortality, and love.
What is the theme of The Book Thief?
One of the most significant themes of The Book Thief is the importance and power of literacy. While words can have a negative impact on the world (such as when Max observes that Hitler used Mein Kampf to change the world for the worst), they can also inspire and liberate people.
How is literacy important in The Book Thief?
Another way in which literacy is powerful in The Book Thief is through the relationships it can forge between people. Liesel's learning to read bonds her with her foster father, Hans. Her desire to read bonds her with the mayor's wife, who lends her books from her library.
Why does Liesel steal books?
The book burnings are intended to silence ideas not in line with Nazi thought, and by saving these books, Liesel is rebelling against the social order in her own small way.
What does the mayor's wife hear on the night of the book burning?
Later, on the night of the book burning, she hears the word "communist" from the podium and things finally start to fall into place for her about what must have happened to her real parents. She is later bonded to two more characters, the Mayor's wife and Max, through books.
What does the narrator reveal about the characters?
The narrator also reveals the fates of most of the characters beforehand, particularly the details of their deaths. This creates a different kind of suspense, where the reader knows some of the story's end but still wants to know how the characters…. read analysis of Death.
What does Death remember about the colors of the sky?
When he takes a soul, Death remembers the color of the sky to distract himself from his grim work. He begins the story with the colors of his three meetings with Liesel, the book thief – white, black, and red – and combines these to form the Nazi flag, which hangs over the story like the colors of the sky. Later Liesel acts similarly to Death in describing the sky to Max when he…
Why did the Nazis burn books?
The Nazis burned books to keep people away from certain ideas, as if those ideas would spread like an infection. They clearly feared those ideas, like the one in the book Liesel steals that a Jew could be a hero, because they could undermine the Nazi ideology and therefore the party’s control over Germany.
Why does Hans slap Liesel?
Hans instructs Liesel about this behavior after he slaps her for saying she hates Hitler in public, explaining that she can feel as she likes in the house, but in public she must behave in a certain way. In fact, duality is a theme of life in general for Liesel and Rudy.
What is the power of words in a novel?
The Power of Words. Words and stories hold tremendous value in the novel, which suggests that they are among the most powerful ways in which people connect with one another. Numerous examples of the ways words connect people turn up throughout the story.
What is the book Thief about?
The Book Thief doesn't stand out for its account of Nazism. Instead, it portrays the daily life of a city still uncertain about their fate. Only two things are certain there: words are a powerful weapon and death becomes omnipresent. World War II is a scenario filmmakers have been exploiting for several decades.
Why is the book Thief important?
Thus, books are also the main protagonist in this film. This is because they serve as an escape route for the other protagonists to survive in their awful situation. As we mentioned above, the action takes place within the framework of the city, in the daily life of the working-class families who were caught off guard by the Nazis.
Why is Liesel's gesture important?
This gesture is significant because Liesel then shares her love of books and words with her family. Also with Max, the young Jewish man hiding in her family’s basement. Later, she also shares her secret with her friend Rudy and, somehow, with the mayor’s wife.
Why does Liesel steal a book?
One with an unknown meaning, but means a lot to her. This is because it’s a connection with her past, with her brother. Her father finds it and teaches her how to read.
What is the forbidden book?
The forbidden books. Liesel finds an important way to escape in words and books and learns to immerse herself in other worlds and learn from them. Books are freedom when they lead to thinking, so the Nazi regime didn’t like them. Thus, they begin to burn books they consider “immoral” and Liesel manages to rescue one.
What do the characters know about the rise of Nazism?
Some of the characters know about the rise of Nazism but don’t really know what it entitles while others do and even welcome it. A girl whose life has been unfortunate stands out from among the crowd. Firstly, she separates from her mother and, later, she deals with the death of her brother.
Is The Book Thief a tearjerker?
The sensitive types may tend to reject this type of film but The Book Thief isn’t exactly a tearjerker. It’s mainly about accepting the natural cycle of life.
The Book Thief Themes
- The Power of Words
In The Book Thief, we see that words and, in extension, stories are among the most powerful ways people connect. So many examples show how the words connect people up throughout the story. Through learning the alphabet and how to use it to make words, Liesel and Hans Hubermann be… - The Kindness and Cruelty of Humans
We see the various degrees of human cruelty and kindness in the novel, from the slight to the most extreme examples. One of the small acts of kindness we see in the novel includes hiding and caring for Max by the Hubermanns even at great risk to themselves, Rudy giving the teddy b…
Analysis of Key Moments in Animal Farm
- When Liesel’s brother died. This event marked the start of the story, which led her to foster parents. It also started Liesel’s stealing of books when she picks up The Grave Digger’s Handbook at th...
- Arrival on Himmel. This event sets the stage for the rest of the book as it marks Liesel coming to live with Hans and Rosa Hubermann after the loss of her family.
- When Liesel’s brother died. This event marked the start of the story, which led her to foster parents. It also started Liesel’s stealing of books when she picks up The Grave Digger’s Handbook at th...
- Arrival on Himmel. This event sets the stage for the rest of the book as it marks Liesel coming to live with Hans and Rosa Hubermann after the loss of her family.
- Early school failure. Liesel didn’t succeed in school when she tried earlier and she became determined to learn how to read.
- Book burning day. The event of burning books on Hitler’s birthday helped Hans discover that Liesel is stealing books.
Style, Tone, and Figurative Language
- The style and language of The Book Thiefis simple because it was primarily meant for young adults. He used a lot of foreshadowing to give the reader a sense of what is coming up in the story. In the book, the narrator of the story, Death, uses foreshadowing in many different events to keep the reader focused on how the characters meet their ends. In Death’s side notes, foreshad…
Analysis of Symbols
- The Book Thiefuses symbols extensively because it is not just a story about a little girl. It is an important historical novel that delved into the suffering of people who lived in Germany during World War II. The story has a lot of lessons especially in mortality, kindness and love and the symbols embody all these.